President Reagan stressed last night that while the United States wants to find a solution to the Palestinian problem, neither the U.S. nor Israel will negotiate with the Palestine Liberation Organization, led by Yasir Arafat, as long as it refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
“You can’t ask them (Israel) to negotiate with someone who’s sitting on the opposite side of the table saying that they start from the negotiating position that Israel doesn’t have any right to exist,” Reagan said at his nationally televised press conference from the East Room of the White House.
“And this is the main thing, “the President added “It’s the reason why we have not felt free to talk with Arafat either until he gives up that position.” Reagan also reiterated the U.S. position that the PLO must accept United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
Reagan discussed the Palestinian situation in response to a question after he announced that he had signed an executive order imposing a total trade ban on Libya and urging the 1,000 to 1,500 Americans still in Libya to leave immediately or be subject to legal penalties.
“By providing material support to terrorist groups which attack U.S. citizens, Libya has engaged in armed aggression against the United States under established principles of international law, just as if he (Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi) had used its own armed forces, ” Reagan said.
But the President refused to say whether he would use military force against Libya, indicating that he was concerned that the Americans still in Libya were potential hostages.
The Palestinian issue was raised when it was suggested that Palestinians might get rid of foreign occupation by emulating U.S. -backed freedom fighters in Afghanistan and the Contras in Nicaragua.
U.S. TRYING TO PROMOTE “PEACEFUL WAY”
“The peaceful way is the thing we’ve been trying to promote,” Reagan replied, “the idea of peace between the Arab states and Israel. And we have emphasized from the very first that the Problem of the Palestinians must be part of any solution.”
But Reagan added that there are thousands of Palestinians in almost a majority. “And in many of these countries they are not made citizens,” he said.
Reagan said these Palestinians ” seem to be content with where they’re living, but those that became refugees, the great refugee camps that we found in Lebanon…are literally people without a country and we think there has to be a solution found for them.”
In his opening statement on Libya, Reagan declared that the attacks on the EI AI counters at the Rome and Vienna airports December 27 were carried out by the Abu Nidal terrorist organization.
Vowing to bring Abu Nidal and other terrorists to justice, Reagan added, ” these murderers could not carry out their crimes without the sanctuary and support provided by regimes such as Colonel Qaddafi’s in Libya. ” He said the airport attacks are only the latest in a series of brutal terrorist attacks committed with Qaddafi’s backing.
Reagan said the U.S. will seek the cooperation of its European allies in the trade embargo on Libya. But he indicated that some may not agree to go along because of their economic situation.
The President acknowledged that there are limits on the retribution the U.S. can take against terrorists. But he noted that during the last year the U.S., working with other countries, aborted 126 terrorist missions. He would not give any details.
At one point Reagan said Qaddafi was not only a barbarian, ” but he’s flaky. ” But when he was asked if he thought Qaddafi was mentally unbalanced, Reagan replied, “No, I just think that the man is a zealot, he is pursuing a revolutionary cause that could affect a great many countries.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
